Stocks ready to rally on fiscal deal

Lawmakers have agreed to a fiscal deal that raises taxes on Americans earning more than $400,000 a year, and delays automatic spending cuts until March 1.

The first trading day of the new year is gearing up to be a positive one for stocks after lawmakers reached a last minute deal to avert the fiscal cliff.

U.S. stock futures rallied Wednesday, with the early gains stretching across a variety of industries. Shares of Apple(AAPL) rose 2.7%, Bank of America(BAC) added 3.3%, and United States Steel(X) was up 3.8% in premarket trading.

As investors shifted into riskier assets, safe havens, such as U.S. Treasuries sold off, with the yield on the 10-year note rising to 1.84% - a level not seen since mid-October. Oil and gold prices also posted sharp gains.

Investors cheered the late night deal reached by the House that keeps the Bush tax cuts in place for most Americans, but raises the tax rate on individuals earning more than $400,000 and married couples earning over $450,000.

Congress also agreed to kick the can down the road on automatic spending cuts, which are now set to go into effect March 1.

But additional -- and perhaps more intractable -- challenges remain. Congress must soon raise the debt ceiling, and figure out plans for the postponed spending cuts and the federal budget.

"Congress has done the easy part," said Lewis Alexander, chief U.S. economist for Nomura, in a research note. "Now a new Congress will have to tackle the hard part -- reduce long-term spending, raise additional revenue and increase the debt limit."